The Little Leather Notebook
by citycrantz
Summary: Imagine the person that you loved just disappeared one day without a single shred, a solitary clue of where they could have possibly gone. That's exactly what happened to Leonardo Hamato when he spotted a human girl, his adoptive sister, stumbling down the NYC sewer channels, a shell of who she once was. Izzy Hamato, the raven beauty, is reduced to shreds. That damn notebook...


The last thing anyone expected was for Izzy Hamato, who had gone missing for the past six months, to come stumbling down the winding tunnels of New York's abandoned subway channels, blood spilling with every singular step she took.

Correction: That was the last thing Hamato Leonardo expected to see. He had just been sitting on a concrete ledge, thinking quietly to himself. He heard..groans come from down below. Concerned, and understandably perplexed, the turtle teen hopped down from his perch and scanned the area around him for any sign of a person.

"Hello? Is anyone there?" He reached a hand toward the hilt of his katana, running his fingers over its leathery casing.

Another moan...and a thump. The figure fell to the ground, shaking. That certainly wasn't a good sign.

"Hey, are you okay?" He wasted no time racing over to the ailing person. And once he got a glance at their bloodied, bruised face, he screamed.

"Isabella..w-what?"

It was indeed Isabella, affectionately known as Izzy. Except..she was different. Her raven locks had become long and wavy, her eyes more brown than hazel. Her face was a bit more angled; she had lost the child-like roundness to it. She seemed thinner, and a bit more muscular. She wore a beaten bomber jacket, paired with a ratty almost threadbare white shirt, and baggy beige cargo pants.

This wasn't the adoptive sister Leonardo had known. But he knew there was yet to be discovered, layers to be delved into.

Was this even her?

Look into her eyes, eyes are windows to the soul

Izzy fixed her gaze on Leo and gave him a tiny grin. She then spoke, her voice husky and hoarse.

"I knew I would see you again."

Her eyes-those sweet doe eyes, fluttered closed, stray locks of dirty, unwashed hair, fell into her face like a burial shroud, her head lulled to the side lazily. Her breathing became shallow and raspy.

Leo heard himself let out a little gasp but paid no mind. He hefted her up in his arms bridal style.

"Just hold on, Iz, you'll be fine, just hold on," His voice faded to a gentle whisper as if she was an infant that needed soothing. "Donnie will patch you right up, okay?" He reassured the unconscious girl as if she could hear him.

But it was obvious that the one that needed reassurance wasn't Izzy.

Leo wasn't prepared for the reactions he got when he stepped into the wide overarching doorway of the lair.

'Leo, what the hell is that?" Raphael's emerald green eyes seemed to snap and crack as he gave his older an inquisitive look. He crossed his arms over his plastron tentatively, but his curiosity seemed piqued. "Mikey's the one who brings random shit home, not you,"

"It isn't a what, Raphael," Leo said sharply, holding Izzy close, running his thick leathery green hand through her hair. "It's a who."

"Leo, what the hell are you talking about?" The red-clad turtle took a step closer, his voice seemed to waver and crack as he began to realize. "Don't play games with me,"

"I found her, Raph." Leo set Izzy down gingerly on the worn leather couch, supporting her head as he did so. "She was bleeding, and she collapsed-" He took a deep breath, to keep his voice from shaking. 'It's Izzy, Raph. Look at her face," He pushed her hair from her face as if it were a curtain shielding a prize.

Raph looked down at the girl, and immediately thought he was going to be sick. Leo was indeed correct, this was her. His surrogate, human sister.

But, she wasn't.

Her peach-colored skin was smattered with cuts and bruises, her lips were dry and cracked, her raven colored hair was frizzy, oily on top from not being washed for God knows how long.

She was a mess. To put it simply, she had seen much better days.

Raph's gaze traveled downward to see a bright red crimson spot forming in contrast to the white tank top she wore.

"Leo," He gasped. 'She's bleeding out,"

"What?" The eldest turtle's cobalt blue eyes widened. "Is Donnie around?"

Raph shook his head solemnly. "No, he's off with April doing science-y shit,"

Leo gave his brother an eye roll of pure disapproval. "I couldn't have put it better myself." His gaze flickered back down to Izzy. "Looks like we're going to have to take care of her ourselves,"

It wasn't long until the brothers were in Donnie's lab, raiding the cabinets for medical supplies.

"Did you find those water resistant bandages?" Leo asked, searching through the throngs of vials and boxes, but to no avail.

"Yeah, along with some those special threads," Raph held up the thick roll of bandages, along with a spool of green thread.

"Oh no, you don't." A sharp voice came from the doorway, and the two brothers looked up to see the tall lanky silhouette standing on the threshold. "I'm not going to let you two stitch up our sister, this isn't Grey's Anatomy."

"How did you know?" Leo fumbled with a bottle of peroxide before regaining his composure.

"I've been watching you two struggle for the past ten minutes," Donnie crossed his thin arms over his plastron, a smirk played on his face. "It was just too good to pass up."

Raph growled. "That really isn't funny, Donnie. We were trying our best to help Izzy,"

Donnie just squinted at his older brother, cocking his head to the side. "Did you even check to see how severe the wound is? You can't go getting supplies until you know that. It's crucial!"

Leo just gave Raph an awkward glance, which the latter returned.

"Uh, well, she's delicate," Leo knew it was a lame consolation, so very lame. 'And..she's a human girl,"

Donnie facepalmed. "She's our sister. And don't be such a baby, she's a girl, she has different body parts, blah, blah, blah. I've heard it all."

They all looked over at the girl who laid on the cot, curled up on her side. Her face was relaxed, but her lips were pinched in a frown. She was in pain, even as she slept.

Donnie knelt down to her level and slowly lifted her shirt, so her belly was visible.

A few seconds of silence.

"It's not that deep of a wound, actually. I think she just needs to have it cleaned and bandaged up," He confirmed, holding his hand out to Raph.

Raph raised an eye ridge. "Whaddya want?"

"The bandages, shell for brains," Donnie pointed at the roll that Raph still clutched in his grasp. His gaze flicked to Leo. "I'm gonna need that peroxide, too. Give it here,"

Leo handed the bottle over almost reluctantly. He wasn't used to being given orders, and nor did he like it despite being the leader.

Donnie worked quickly, making no haste to clean and bandage the injury in what seemed like record time. Raphael could have sworn he only blinked once and by the time he opened his eyes, the purple-clad turtle was already snipping off the excess bandage.

"Okay, she's good for now," Donnie ushered his two eldest brothers out the door, hurriedly but politely. 'But, I still need to check for other..extensive injuries.

The door clicked shut behind the brothers, leaving them with only unanswered questions and thoughts swirling around in their heads.

Nothing was said for a long, long while.

"Leo," Raph's voice was soft and gentle. He rubbed his arm tentatively.

'Yes, Raphael?" Leo's voice was strained as he leaned up against the wall, fingertips pressed to his temples, his eyes closed.

"What do you think happened to Izzy, all that time she was gone?"

The question hung in the air, waiting to crush the siblings.

"I don't know," Leo's breath hitched. "But all I know is that whatever it was, got her bad," He buried his face in his hands, letting out an exhausted sigh. "It got her real, real, bad,"

Screams seeped out from under the door, mixed with sobbing and garbled words.

"Please, don't touch me! I didn't do anything! Please,"

Donnie's soft voice came into the hodgepodge. "Izzy, please, it's only me, Donnie.."

"No, please don't t-touch m-me, please!" Izzy's voice just rose higher and higher.

And then there was nothing,"


End file.
